wiggle room. the senate approves temporary funding to avoid a government shutdown, but is it really a done deal? shaken and stirred. newly released video shows tense moments inside the washington monument as an earthquake strikes. and silver lining. divers discover a world war ii shipwreck with a massive treasure haul. good morning, i'm lynn berry, those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with shutdown averted. senators managed to put aside their differences for now at least, passing legislation that will both keep the government in business and keep government relief coming to the victims of this year's many weather-related disasters. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning.

here's how it happened. 26 republicans joined democrats to pass this measure. they're doing it in two parts. first of all, a temporary extension, which basically extends government funding through tuesday until the house gets back next week. and then a longer-term extension that will extend funding through november 18th. the house will vote on that when they return on tuesday. now, this includes over $2.6 billion for fema. they were able to scale that back and not deal with the very controversial issue of cuts to some clean energy programs. democrats didn't want to see those cuts. but the white house budget director confirmed that fema actually was not going to run out of money today or tomorrow. they had a few more days and could hold out until the end of the week. that allowed them to scale back $1 billion and avoid that fight all together. where do we go from here? on thursday, the house will pass essentially with unanimous consent this short-term extension through tuesday. it's not very clear if all

republicans, especially conservatives, are behind that. lynn? we'll have to wait and see. last night on "the ed show" ed shultz and rick santorum got into a heated discussion about the ongoing budget battle. ed challenged santorum on whether giving tax cuts to the wealthy has been an effective means of job creation. >> it certainly has worked in a lot of respects. we had very low rates of unemployment. we had record low rates of unemployment for a long time in this country until we had the catastrophe caused in large part by the housing industry, fanny mac and freddie mac. >> which is what the republicans push a lot of. >> it wasn't deregulation at all. it was fannie mae and freddie mac holding assets that they shouldn't have been holding. i was one of the people who signed a letter back in 2005 and 2006 and said we better reform

these two institutions or we'll have a meltdown and that's what happened. part of it was government regulation and government markets that caused the bubble and the loose lending practices that led to the problem. >> lean forward with "the ed show" weeknights at 10:00 eastern on msnbc, the place for pol politics. well, from investors to job-seekers to small business owners, it is easy to see how the troubled economy is impacting all different kinds of americans. what about our nation's students? as part of nbc's week-long education nation coverage, msnbc contributor and correspondent jeff johnson talked to some florida students about how their dreams are holding up. >> reporter: as unemployment hovers at the highest levels in decades and the economy makes a college education harder to reach, students at one florida high school are optimistic. >> i feel great about being an american, for the future.

>> reporter: at sun coast community high, they're proud of being ranked ninth in the country by "newsweek" magazine. >> what sun coast offers that is so different is the unique atmosphere. everybody is so -- so willing and so ambitious to work and to succeed. >> reporter: but even in a school with 100% graduation rate, where college admission is virtually guaranteed, students are painfully and personally aware of the challenges. >> the economic times has definitely, like, completely changed my mindset about college. >> reporter: ashley is a senior who plans on being the first in her family to go to college. years ago her parents enrolled her in florida's prepaid college tuition program which has eased the strain on their family. william fields has it tougher. his mother was recently laid off and now he's grappling with a new reality. >> then i'll have to cut back and maybe go to the state college for two years and try to transfer. >> reporter: the unemployment rate in florida is 10.7%, up to 17.2% for african-americans in south florida. the high school graduation rate is improving but still ranks 44th in the nation.

the national urban league of palm beach county is keenly aware of the problems. they worked to develop one of the best youth programs. >> i'm a senior. >> let's hear it for seniors. >> reporter: it's called new lights, providing mentoring skills, training, s.a.t. prep and more so students can do well in high school and beyond. >> we're exposing them to everything and beyond and letting them know there's a life after high school and they have to go for it. >> reporter: tiffany wright is also student who attends new light at sun coast school. her sister graduated with a master's degree but couldn't find work for three years. it's a memory that still haunts tiffany. >> my sister, if they couldn't get a job, what makes me different? >> reporter: in spite of everything, she still has hope. >> one of new light's principles is create a better future for my people and myself. that's what i want to do. a pray for that. i pray america could be what

they used to be. >> reporter: back at sun coast, tiffany's peers echo the optimism. >> opportunities are everywhere in america. i'm just very proud to be an american citizen. >> even though the recession may have people depressed at the time, personally that makes me want to work harder, with all my education i want to improve society. >> reporter: new challenges for a new generation determined in the face of adversity. jeff johnson, msnbc, florida. >> for details on the 2011 education nation summit, including event information, the latest news, interactive tour and how you can get involved, check out our website at educationnation.com. here's your "first look" at other news going on around mark today. dramatic new video shows scary moments inside the washington monument during last month's 5.8 magnitude earthquake. tourists can be seen running for safety 500 feet up in the tower as debris falls from surrounding walls. the famed landmark has been deemed secure but park officials

say climbers will repel all four faces of the monument to look for any further damage before reopening to the public. in seattle, inspectors from the puget sound energy are checking for natural gas leaks after two people were seriously injured in a violent home explosion. the house was nearly leveled in the blast, which was so powerful, it shattered windows around the block. investigators say the flip of an electrical switch sparked the blowup. and finally in oregon, a dog on the run caused a chaotic commute for some drivers in portland yesterday afternoon. the furry little guy was fast on his feet. even dodging some close calls, cutting across lanes of oncoming traffic before dashing into a side street. he was fine. now for a look at your national weather, we turn to todd santos. quick moves.

>> lucky dog. >> eahe's fine. >> scramble the chopper, we have a dog on the ground. we need to see this from the sky down. let's look at the radar from the sky down of sorts. still some of the same features we've been following for the last few days, since late last week. that upper level cutoff low, the jet stream deposited that near the great lakes and it's been spinning there. the jet stream well up to the north. we'll continue to see the showers associated with the upper level low myself. also a frontal boundary back towards the mountains that will trigger showers over towards the east. want to bring on the water vapor image imagery. some of that is streaming northward, you see a lot of that wrapped up towards the east coast. dry air would show up in orange, really not showing up at all. you talk about the moisture in the air, especially across the tri-state area. you bring in a front from the

west, and many of us are waking up to sunshine, but then a chance for thunderstorms this afternoon. up towards boston, central and southern new england, maybe a sprinkle later on today, but better chances will come overnight tonight and into tomorrow. tomorrow morning's commute may be dealing with more showers. wanted to also show again, there you can see that upper level low spinning with some of those showers spinning back towards milwaukee and chicago. down to the south this is a six-hour loop, just over the last two hours, thunderstorms have fired up north of a warm front of southern arkansas, and they have been active lightning producers. maybe you have 30 minutes worth of lightning tracking, that's ten minutes. very active lightning producers there. not a great severe threat at the moment, could deal with gusty winds out of that line and we could see some of it building back to the west, to eastern texas. we'll take a closer look at that area and look at the tropics

coming up. coming up, stocks rise on wall street and a unique sendoff for the inventor of an american snack institution. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the red sox are finding new ways to lose. an unlikely hero for the cowboys, and ozzie guillen has finally had enough. you're watching "first look." [ boy ] hey, i thought these were electric? uh, it is, yeah, it's a chevy volt.

so what are you doing at a gas station? well it still takes gas to go farther. but you're not getting gas. true. not this time. uh, don't have to gas up very often. so you have to go to the bathroom? no. yes you do. thought these were electric? yes, it's a uh, a chevy volt. so what are you doing at a gas station? ♪ got so many scratches and scars ♪ ♪ maybe time can mend us together again ♪ ♪ it's not what we've done but how far we've come ♪ ♪ i know that we will recover [ male announcer ] here when you need us most.

welcome back to "first look" i'm lynn berry. here's some of the top stories making the justicdepartment has declined to ask a federal appeals court in atlanta to reconsider its ruling declaring part of president obama's health care overhaul unconstitutional. that means the supreme court will likely hear the case via other challenges and could render a verdict in the midst of the 2012 presidential campaign. at least seven people have been killed by a typhoon in the philippines. the storm has been packing wind gusts of over 100 miles per

hour. some of the dead sea scrolls. 2,000-year-old manuscripts containing some of the oldest known biblical texts went online for the first time ever yesterday through a joint effort by israel's national museum and google. and american treasure hunters struck it big. they're working to recover an english ship packed with silver sunk off the irish coast after being torpedoed by nazis in 1941. the cargo included 7 million ounces of silver, which would make it the largest amount of precious metal ever recovered from the sea. and at today's prices, the cargo would be worth $210 million. not bad there. now here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,043 after climbing 272 points yesterday. the s&p nudged up 26 points. the nasdaq gained 33. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei rose 235 points, while in hong kong, the hang

seng skyrocketed 722. stocks had their biggest gains in more than two weeks monday on signs european officials are finally moving on debt. all talk and no action has left greece teetering. euro banks wobbling and stocks here in a freefall. but monday reports that officials are preparing bold new actions and strong words from president obama helped calm market nerves. stocks gained back about a third of last week's losses. the president challenged euro leaders to act quickly, saying the crisis is scaring the world. not surprisingly, since banks here have the most to lose, financials led gains. both jpmorgan chase and citigroup rose 7%. apple held down the nasdaq falling on reports it's cutting orders from ipad parts suppliers. boeing rose a day after delivering its first 787 dreamliner. berkshire hathaway's b-class stocks soared on news of a share buyback program after investor complaints the stock was

undervalued. the securities and exchange commission may file civil action against standard & poor's for its rating of a 2007 mortgage debt offering. the commission may move against the entire rating industry for actions leading to the financial crisis. and finally, the inventor of the dorito, arch west, will be buried as a result in tribute to the 97-year-old's family says they'll sprinkle some chips in his grave. coming up, the cowboys kick the redskins. the astros bunt the cardinals. and the red sox keep slip sliding away. the tampa bay rays grab another win and a tie for the american league wild card playoff spot. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] among marie claire's top 25 beauty products

that will change your life... for the first time ever... a toothpaste. crest 3d white. if beauty editors notice, who else will? crest 3d white toothpaste. life opens up when you do.

the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

welcome back to "first look" i'm lynn berry. in sports last night the agony continued for the cursed boston red sox. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. the red sox's september collapse has hit a new low against one of the worst teams in baseball. taking on the orioles, tied 2-2 in the sixth. davis doubled down the line, go ahead run came in, baltimore up 3-2. and the inning only got worse from there. andino with a shot to deep center. ellsbury made the grab but dropped the ball when he hit the wall and bases were cleared. andino came around for an inside the park homer. red sox are finding new ways to lose, they fell 6-3.

the rays needed a win to pull even in the wild card race and they got it against the yankees. damon with an rbi single and capped off the win with defense. jennings laid out to make the sno-cone grab. tampa won it 5-2. they are tied with boston for the wild card. to the n.l., braves in a similar situation as red sox. like boston, they lost. raul ibanez put philly on top in the sixth, that's all they needed. the phils won it 4-2. cards with a chance to pull even in the wild card but they couldn't beat the astros. in the tenth, man on third, sanchez lays down the bunt, octavio dotel couldn't make the play. cards remain a game back. according to sources, ozzie guillen has managed his last game for the white sox. chicago released him from his contract yesterday. he'll likely be the manager of the florida marlins. good old-fashioned nfc grudge match. cowboys/redskins, rex grossman to a wide open tim hightower. dallas turned to an unlikely source for points, dan bailey

hit six field goals. this 40-yarder gave them the lead. the defense did the rest. final minute, grossman scrambled and anthony spencer stripped him from behind. the cowboys recovered and without scoring a touchdown, beat the skins 18-16. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. for another quick look at the weather, here is meteorologist todd santos. good morning, todd. good morning. a decent day across a good portion of the country. want to take you to the tropics for an update. a few things we're watching. there's felipe. that's pushing towards the north. not an issue for the united states. wanted to mention this disturbance outside the leeward islands. the center of circulation or the slowly forming area of low pressure there, kind of drifting off towards the northwest. it's one to watch especially the next couple of days. beyond that, the atlantic looking quiet that little cluster was the remnants of ophelia. there's a look at the latest with hurricane hilary.

as it moves towards the north. right now it's a major hurricane. we'll have a chance by this weekend for some of this moisture to work its way into the four corners. maybe a chance for heavy showers for arizona really through the finish of that weekend and some of that throughout the southwest. there's a look at it for today again. some of the best showers around chicago, the potential increasing throughout the day, around new york, city, philly, boston later on tonight and tomorrow the better chances down towards miami. thunderstorm potential there. a talk show host's health care and peace with charlie sheen for a price. and tough talk on the turnpike. new jersey officially dissesmtv's "jersey shore." you're watching "first look" on msnbc. two. and, three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn more cash back for the things you buy most.

1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% cash back on groceries. 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. it's as easy as one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. sterling heights, michigan. in here, food is inspected, perfected and occasionally rejected. with a customized mobile app developed with at&t, jet's food inspectors can share data in real time -- so what used to take two weeks, now takes two hours. faster feedback means better food and happy people. it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. call at&t and see what we can do for your business. ♪ it'd be easier to compare. you think these all cost about the same. they all give safe drivers a discount. but what's this? only allstate gives safe drivers something more.

a bonus check every six months you drive accident-free. so what's it going to be? eenie, meanie, miney... or more. shop less. get more. make one call to an allstate agent. [ female announcer ] call allstate now and you'll also get a free lifetime membership in good hands roadside assistance. i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] don't just moisturize, improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula goes beyond 24-hour moisture. it's clinically proven to improve your skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. for healthy, beautiful skin that lasts. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. and for healthy, beautiful hair, try nourish plus haircare. only from aveeno.

welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. last night on "late night with jimmy fallon," jimmy had his doubts about a project to get seniors out to vote. >> did you guys see this? president obama's campaign just launched a new program geared towards seniors called "operation vote." just what old people need, another operation. listen to this, there's talk that new jersey governor chris christie is under pressure from republicans to run for president. yeah. also under a lot of pressure, chris christie's belt. just saw this, you guys. the man who invented doritos has passed away at the 97. he asked to be buried with the

creators of fritos and cheetos in a variety pack. it gets worse. his coffin seemed really big, but, you know, 80% of it is just air. >> tonight jimmy welcomes joseph gordon lovett, roger waters, and musical guest, foo fighters. it is time for your "first look" at entertainment news. talk show host ellen degeneres had an on the job health scare. paramedics were called to the warner brothers lot for chest pains. she said she was fine and just playing it safe saying who doesn't want to see a fireman occasionally. we do here in the studio. well, the same studio warner brothers and charlie sheen are now at peace. settling their bitter "two and a half men" legal battle. tmz reports sheen will get $25

million now and $100 million over the next seven years. finally, new jersey governor chris christie blocked a $420,000 state tax credit for mtv's "jersey shore" saying the show, quote, does nothing more than perpetuate misconceptions about the state and its there's just no good way to go there. no side of that story that we'll be able to tackle here in about 15 seconds. >> is it just the bar tab? it's the tax on the bar tab is what it seems. >> something tells me $420,000 won't stop that show from going to seaside. >> probably not. >> their 10 million viewers they'll take with them. i'm lynn berry this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. good news -- the united states government will continue to function thanks to the brave souls we sent to capitol hill. a deal is struck that allows for reduced funding to fema and no

offsetting cuts to the budget. the question is will we do this again in a month and a half when the government needs walking around money again? despite talk of him throwing up all over himself at the last debate, a new poll shows rick perry holding steady on top. the question is will perry continue to thrive despite the beltway's near rejection of his candidacy? it's hard to know what to say anymore. the red sox collapse is nearly complete with another loss last night. they fall into a tie with tampa bay for the american lead wild card. the question is should the naonal guard remove shoelaces and sharp objects from homes of all boston residents? it's "way too early" for this. good morning. i'm willie geist, this is "way too early," the show that even as a yankee fan finds the red sox public meltdown difficult to watch. i'm glad you are up with us watching on